Somewhere it is springtime

All around me people are mowing their lawns for the first time. Early tulips are blooming and all kinds of birds are fussing at the feeder. The cardinal pair, a rose breasted grosbeak, nuthatches, goldfinches, sparrows, chipping sparrows and the lovely white throated sparrows with their black and white striped heads and splash of yellow at the spot where their beak meets their forehead. The stop on a dog.

At one time everyone planted masses of red and yellow Emperor tulips, but today the colors are soft and muted. And some are even exotic shaped.

In my own garden the early dusty, dark lavender tulips are blooming. The rambling rose bush is leafing, with a bunch of new sprouts. It is hard to think the oh so beautifully fragrant shrub rose will be in bloom in a few weeks now. The furnace is still running and last night we had frost warnings.

But in June, the Emma Rose will bloom.

I don't know exactly what variety the rose is, burt I named it Emma rose for the woman who lived in this house all her adult life. She married a local boy and the families were among the first Europeans to settle in this part of Wisconsin.

The wild rambling roses are hers too. And the peonies, poppies and lilacs. Emma was 88 when she died, and lived in this house until close to the time of her death.

Usually the lilacs are blooming by May 10. They are just beginning to leaf out, so we'll see if the Emma rose blooms in June.

PHOTO BY SHIRLEY HUNSAKER